Master copy sheet



May 31, 1938. E. z. LEWIS ET AL 2,118,888

MASTER COPY SHEET Filed Sepl'.. 50, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 e mess:

Patented May 31, 1938 MASTER corr sanar Edward Z. Lewis, Evanston, Ill., and William J.

Menihan, Franklin, Pa., assignors to The General Manifold and Printing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 30, 1936, Serial No. 103,426

12 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to a master copy sheet, and more particularly to a double duty copy sheet suitable for use in hectograph methods of reproduction. A master sheet is a piece of fairly hard '5* paper or other suitable material, having a surfaci suitable for receiving an impression of characters typed or written in what is commonly known as hectograph ink.

To obtain the best results in reproduction from a master hetcograph copy sheet, the kind of material, the weight and nish of the paper stock upon which the hectograph carbon is applied, as well as the paper stock upon which the copies are to be reproduced, are important factors. In'the new method hereinafter presented the master hectograph carbon sheet and the record sheet may be made of selected paper stock to meet the requirements above set forth, and each sheet may comprise a long, continuous sheet of uniform quality, as well as shorter individual sheets. Furthermore, both sheets may consist of the same material.

The method ordinarily employed to make a master hectograph carbon copy is by inserting a sheet coated on one side with hectograph carbon material, (generally termed hectograph carbon paper) between two record sheets, and the irnpression is made by the typewriter or other means on the top sheet, thus producing a hectograph copy on the underlying sheet, which becomes the master copy sheet, and from which additional copies are reproduced by the gelatin pad method. In the making of a, master hectograph carbon copy for use in reproduction of copies by a well 35 known alternative method,i. e. on the rotary style of duplicating machine (where the master copy is attached to a cylinder) it is necessary that the writing of'the master carbon copy be reversed, which is accomplished by placing the record sheet (the sheet on which the master copy is to be made) in front of the hectograph carbonsheet with the carbonized surface facing towardthe record sheet. The impression is then made on the face of the record sheet and the hectograph carbon copy is thus produced on the back of said record sheet.

It will be seen that the sheet of hectograph carbon is necessarily handled in the various operations. The inherent nature of hectograph coating is such that it readily stains the hands and fingers when contacted.

The general object of the invention is to provide a master sheet which can be used effectively either in making copies or reproductions on the spirit type of reproducer or in producing copies on the gelatin type of reproducer, with little or no risk ofsoiling the fingers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a double sheet for hectograph use, so coated with transfer material that a master copy may be made for use with either type of duplicator simply by typing on one side or thev other `of said double sheet.

An additional object is to provide a lduplex sheet which may be conveniently placed in a typewriter or other machine without exposure of the coated surface.

A further object is to provide such a duplex copy sheet with a protective sheet which will prevent marking or smudging of the surface of the sheet on which the impression is to' be made, prior to the typing operation, which will save the coating from injury, and-which may be easily removed when the impression is to be received.

Another object is to provide a device of this character as a new article of manufacture in which both kinds of master copies may be made at one impression.

Another object is to provide an article of manufacture of this character in which substantially half of the coated area is folded to contact with the other half, toprevent smearing of the transfer material.

An additional object is to provide means for preventing the cracking or disintegration of the hectograph coating by folding back and forth` continuous strips of hectograph coated paper in a pack, with an equal length of a continuous strip of blank master copy paper of the same width folded back and forth in similar folds with the ends of each strip projecting, whereby they may be pulled from the middle of the pack as a duplex sheet and inserted in a typewriter with either side facing the type, to provide conventional typing or reverse typing.

A further object is to provide a roll of superimposed sheets one of which is coated on one side with transfer material in contact with the other sheet, whereby the two sheets may be pulled from the roll as asingle sheet and fed to a typewriter, either side up, to produce conventional or reverse typing on the sheet which is used as the master form. v

Other objects and advantages will appear from a consideration of the following description.

Several embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the duplex sheet with corners turned back to show the hectograph transfer coating and the wax tissue sheet;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the sheets moved apart to clarify the disclosure;

Fig. 3 shows the duplex sheet after the protecting sheet of Wax tissue paper has been pulled out and after certain characters have been typed thereon;

Fig. 4 shows the duplex sheet with the typing on the opposite side;

Fig. 5 shows the inner surface of the upper half of the detached typed-sheet of Fig. 4; 60

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the detached wax tissue sheet; i

Fig. 7 is an end view of a -hectograph of the gelatin type;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of a spirit typeduplicator;

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are perspective views of a modification;

Figs. 12 and 13 are perspective views of another modiilcation;

Fig. 14 is an end view of a further modification;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of an additional modification:

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a further modification: and

Figs. 17 and 18 are perspective views of the paper being folded into position for use.

The duplex copy sheet comprises what may be called the upper sheet -I0 and the lower sheet Il. The under sides of these sheets are marked, for convenience, I0*l and H. In the first form shown, they are preferably of the same size, and are connected at one or more points to hold them in registration but-in such a way as to permit ready separation. 'I'hey may, for example, be joined at the top edge, as shown in Fig. 1, wherein the two sheets comprise a single sheet folded at the middle and provided with perforations l2 to permit the two panels to be torn apart. The under side llll of the top sheet has a coating thereon of transfer material of suitable composition for use in hectograph machines either of gelatin type or spirit type reproducers. Such coatings are made of what is commonly known as hectograph ink. I'his coating may cover the entire under surface or inner surface of the sheet, but preferably terminates short of the top and bottom, as better shown in Fig. 4.

Between the two sheets or panels there is provided preferably a sheet of protective material, as for example oil or wax tissue paper i3, to prevent the coating from being transferred to the under sheet before the impression is to be made. In other words it prevents marking or smudging of the lower sheet. This interleaved sheet may be held between the upper and lower sheets by gumming the same at one edge, as for example the top or bottom, by wire stitching' or in other ways, whereby it may be readily removed before the typing is done. One method of holding said sheet is shown in Fig. 1 in which the three sheets are stapled together at I4 and a curved line of perforations l5 is provided in the top and bottom sheets, but not in the wax sheet. The latter, however, may'have a cut-out or notch in the upper margin, as shown in Fig. 6. With this arrangement the sheets may be held by one hand atfthe upper margin, and the tab outlined by thev perforations may beseized between the thumb and finger of the other hand and torn out, thus removing the wax sheet, which is shown detached in Fig. 6. 'I'he staple holds the three sheets together at one side preventing them from blowing open and being accidentally folded-over and creased. Separation at the opposite side is prevented by the fact that the inner sheet is enclosed by the two sections of the folded-over cover sheet. Insofar as the removal of the protective wax sheet is concerned, the same will be prevented from falling out from between the folded-over sheet, if the former is secured to either of the two folded-over sections. In other words, said protective sheet may be stapled either'to the upper or to the lower-of the two panels VI0 or H, which are provided with the line of perforations 2,119,888 shown in Fig. 1, and detached by pulling out the tab. While the protective sheet. may be secured to either the upper or lower sheets II Il. it will be noted that if it is secured to the sheet having the transfer material on the back, i. e. sheet l0. the only tab torn out will be torn out from sheet I0, which sheet is subsequently discarded in any case, leaving the typed sheet or master form Il intact.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the duplex copy sheet has indicia thereon to insure that the typing or writing thereon will be applied to the proper sheet.V In Fig. 1. the sheet I0 has printing thereon, for example, instructing the operator to type on that sheet in order that the resulting master sheet may be used for hectograph work. i. e. re-g production work in which there are two'inipressions made to produce the desired ilnalv sheet. The opposite or under side H' may have printed thereon instructions to type or write on that side in order that the master sheet may be usedfor the spirit type of reproduction in which only a single impression is required to produce the final sheet.

If the duplex copy sheet is to be used for hec, tograph reproduction work. the folded sheet is now inserted in the typewriter and typed on the upper face l0, as viewed in Fig 3, and the letters or characters will be transferred tothe lower sheet Il with the said letters or characters in the normal order, reading from left to right,as will be evident. In Fig. 3, part of the uppersheet is broken away to show the lower sheet. The top sheet Il may now be detached and discarded, and the remaining sheet vor panel, i. e. the so called bottom sheet Il used as an ordinary hectograph master copy sheet. ,v

Fig. 7 indicates a. simple hectograph-outtlt--in the form of a pan containing a layer ofgelatin IG. If the said master copy sheet Il is pressed face downwardly against the gelatin and then spiritY type of duplicator, the duplexvcopy sheet is turned over before being put-into the typewriter so that the typing isA done on theouter face Il of the bottom sheet instead of on the outer face of the top sheet. The result ofthis operation is shown in Fig. 4 in which the impression appears both on the front 'and on the back' of the sheet on which the typing is done. The

impression made by the hectograph ink appears on the face- Il, the letters or characters appearing, however, in reverse order, as indicated in Fig. 5. The impression made'on the front or face ill serves no purpose in making reproductions but is useful in reading the typed matter to see if it is correct. After the two sheets are separated, as in the previous case, the; typed sheet is used in the usual manner by attaching it to the cylinder I1 of the spirit duplicator, shown in Fig. 8, the reverse typing, in hectograph ink, -facing out. As the moistened sheets of paper `I8 are rolled against the exposed sheet il of the master copy sheet, the writing is reversed asi it is transferred thereto and appears with the letters in conventional order, as is well understood. It will be seen that whether the duplex form is typed on the front or the back, the coated sheet I 0 is discarded in either case and the coated sur--A aliases rial 24 is coated on one side and is folded as a' 'It will be seen that one essential difference between the hectograph and the spirit machine is that in the former and after the typing operation is completed, there are two impressions made, i. e. the typed material is transferred rst to the gelatin and then from the gelatin to the final sheet. In the spirit type machine, after the typing is finished there is only one impression made, which transfers the material from the master copy to the moistened final sheet.

The `present improvement provides a unit form which comprises both a hectograph ink coated sheet and a master copy record sheet in which the copy is always produced on the record sheet and in which the sheet or sheets may be made of the material best suited for the purpose. Since the sheets are attached to each other in a manner to make them substantially an integral unit, it becomes unnecessary for the hands to come in contact with the hectograph coating at any time.

The wax tissue sheet or other protective sheetr prevents any offset of the hectograph coating against the face of the adjacent sheet. A further advantage of this, aside from the matter of cleanliness, is that a clear, sharp copy, suitable for reproduction, is made on the master copy.

In Figs. 9, and 11, a slightlymodied form of unit is illustrated. The sheet I9 is folded over near the middle to form two panels, one of which is shorter than the other. The shorter sheet is coated on the under side, the longer one having a projecting margin. On this margin may be printed instructions to the effect that by typing with this side up. a master sheet will be produced which may be used with the gelatin type equipment. On the back of the longer panel may be printed instructions with reference to typing on that side to produce a master copy for the spirit type machine. The protective sheet 20 is preferably longer than the shorter of the two panels and may be detachably fastened at its upper end to the folded sheet as by gumming or otherwise, whereby it may be pulled out. Said sheet may, for example, be stapled to the under sheet, similarly to the arrangement in Fig. l, with perforations in said under sheet, or it may be secured in various other ways. After the short panel is torn off and discarded, the instructions remain printed on the longer panel as an aid in further handling of the same, although the characteristic appearance of the hectograph ink and the arrangement of the typing, forward or backward, makes it evident with which type of apparatus the master copy is to be used.

Fig. 12 shows a further modification in whlch a sheet of material 2| is folded back and forth in the form of a W, forming four panels, with a coating on half of one side of the sheet. In other words, the coating covers two panels whose inside surfaces face each other, thus preventing smudging. The ends 22 of the two outside panels are preferably longer than the intermediate fold whereby the two protruding ends may be held in the hand and a pencil or ruler 23 inserted in either of the two V shaped loops, as shown in Fig. 13, and the folded paper pulled out into a length of paper having a single fold therein, substantially half of the strip of paper being coated. With the sheet in this form it is ready for use in the manner previously described. It will be seen that the folded arrangement in Fig. 12 makes unnecessary the use of a protective sheet of oil paper or wax tissue.

Fig. 14 shows a further development of the same idea. A strip of paper or suitable matefan-fold, all the folded sections being coated on the inner surfaces which face each other and therefore cannot with ordinary handling come in contact with the fingers or with other objects. A strip of record paper 25 is also folded in like manner. The carbon coated sheet is indicated by the heavier of the two lines. If lthe'two projecting ends 26, which are in parallel relation and superimposed with the carbon coated sheet 10 in contact with the other sheet, are pulled outwardly and fed around a typewriter platen, it will be seen that a continuous master form is provided. Subsequent rotation of the platen continues to pull out the necessary lengths of the duplex slip and without cracking or damaging the carbon coating. The two fan-folds may be stored in a suitable container and as the strips are pulled out they move at the same rate and do not slide one over the other in a manner to cause smudging or smearing of thecoating. It is understood, of course, that the composite strip may be fed into the typewriter with either the coated or the uncoated strip on top so that the typing may be reversed or otherwise, depending on the type of master form desired.

In Fig. 15, two strips of paper 21 are rolled up on a suitable spindle 28. These two strips, as in the previous case, comprise respectively a coated strip and a record strip and the type of master form produced is determined by mounting the roll either in the position shown or reversed end for end in suitable supports 29, which are shown somewhat diagrammatically in this figure. These supports are mounted on or to the rear of a typewriter so that the strips may be-fed into the machine continuously and cut oi or torn off in shorter sheets of the required length.

Figs. 16, 1'7 and 18 show an arrangement whichmakes it possible to make both kinds of master copies at one impression. The sheet 30 is folded into four panels 301, 302, 303, 304, two of which are coated on the inside with transfer material, as shown by the heavier line. These coated surfaces are folded against each other to prevent smudging. If these two coated panels are partially opened, as shown in Fig. 17, and folded around the remaining two folded panels, as shown in Fig. 18, it will be seen that two of the four panels, i. e. 303 and 304, will constitute master copy sheets with the typing on panel 304 in regular order and on panel 303 in the reverse order and both made by the same impressions of the type against the paper, i. e. against the outside surface of panel 302. In like manner if .the typed impression is made on panel 301, a copy will appear on panel 303 in the conventional order and concurrently a copy willKbe made on panel 304 in the reverse order. 'I'he two master copy panels may be detached from each other and from the remaining two sheets, which are discarded.

By way of summary, the device provides a unltary double duty master Copy which, when marketed, is designed to protect the hectograph coating, which coating when the sheets are arranged in a stack or in a box is tightly pressed against the wax sheet without rubbing and hence the coating itself will not deteriorate by exposure to air or light; the oil tissue paper does not absorb the copying ink or permit any disilgurement of the master copy section before the same is ready for use; and merely by writing on one side or the other of the device either kind of master copy is produced. 'Ihe necessary instructions may be printed near the top of each of the two outer sheets so that the user will insert the sheets properly in the typewriter to make the type of master copy desired.

We claim: v

, 1. A copy sheet for use either in the gelatin type orl in the spirit type of reproduction, comprising upper and lower panels of sheet material the outer sides of which are adapted for writing thereon, the innerside of one of said panels being coated with hectograph ink, a sheet of protective material between said panels, and means holding all of said sheets in detachable relation.

2. A copy sheet of the character set forth, comprising apiece of` paper folded and weakened along a center line, thereby forming superimposedpanels, the outer side of each panelhaving a surface adaptedv for typing thereon, and the inner side of one of said panels having a coating of hectograph transfer material thereon with uncoated margins at the top and bottom, said panels having registering. detachable portions at one of their edges, said portions being fastened together.

3. A copy sheet of the character set forth, comprising a piece of paper folded at its middle, forming upper and lower panels, the outer side of each panel having a surface adapted for writing thereon,the inner side of one of said panels having a hectograph transfer coating, said panels having registering .detachable tabs at one edge, and a sheet of protective material interposed between said panels and fastened to each of said detachable tabs. Y

4. A copy sheet of the character set forth comprising a strip of paper vfolded at its middle,forming upper and lower sections, the outer side of each section having a surface adapted for writing thereon, and the inner side of one of said sections having a coating of hectograph transfer material, said sections having registering detachable tabs formed by lines of perforations near the edges of said sections, said tabs being fastened together, and a sheet of non-adhesive tissue interposed between said sections and removable therefrom with said tabs.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a sheet of material folded on three transverse lines to form four panels, half of said sheet being coated on the inner side with hectograph transfer material,

whereby the two panels comprising said coated half sheet may be folded face to face to prevent smearing of said material prior to using the same, and whereby said two coated panels may be folded over the other two folded panels to make two master copy panels, each having characters thereon made from the same impression, but oneset of characters being reversed in arrangement with respect to the other.

6. A copy'sheet for use either in the gelatin type or in the spirit type of reproduction, oomprising two sheets of material detachably secured to each other whereby one may be discarded, one side of each of said sheets being adapted for writing thereon, the opposite side only of one of said sheets being coated with hectograph ink, a sheet of protective material between said two sheets and means detachably holding said sheet of protective material to one of said two sheets, to preventsmudging of the hectograph ink over the surface of the adjacent, uncoated sheet, prior to writing on either of said two sheets.

'7. A copy sheet of the character set forth, comprising a piece of paper folded and weakened aliases along a center line. thereby forming superimposed panels, the outer side of each panel having a surface adapted for typing thereon, and the inner side of one of said panels having a coating of hectograph transfer material thereon with uncoated margins at the top and bottom, one of said panels having a detachable portion at one of its edges, and a sheet between said superimposed panels. fastened tosaid detachable portion.

8. A copy sheet of the character set forth, comprising a piece of paper folded at its middle, forming upper and lower panels, the outer side ot each panel having a surface adapted for writing thereon, the inner side of one of said panels having a hectograph transfer coating, one of said panels having a detachable tab at one edge, and a sheet of protective material interposed between said panels and fastened to said tab.

9. A copy sheet for use either in the gelatin type or in the spirit type of reproduction, comprising two sheets of material detachably secured to .each other whereby one may be discarded, one side of each of said sheets being adapted for writing thereon, the opposite side only of one of said sheetsbeing c oated with hectograph ink, a sheet of protective material between said two sheets to prevent smudging of the hectograph ink o er the surface of the adjacent, uncoated sheet, and means for detachably holding said sheet of protective material in place, whereby it may be removed prior to writing on either of said two sheets.

10. A device for making a master copy sheet for use either in the gelatin type or in the spirit type of reproduction, comprising two sheets of substantially the same size arranged in superimposed relation, a hectograph transfer ink coating on theV inner face of one of said sheets, whereby a typed impression made on the opposite side of said coated sheetwill be transferred to the inner face of the other of the two sheets, with the letters in the conventional order from left to right, whereas a typed impression made on the outer face of said other-sheet will appear on the inner face thereof, with the letters in the reverse order, and a sheet of protective material between said superimposed sheets in contact with said inner faces to prevent smudging of the uncoated inner face by the coated'face, prior to either of the aforesaid typing operations, said protective sheet being removable to permit said typing operations.

11.- A copy sheet of the character set forth, comprising a piece of paper folded and weakened along -a center line, thereby forming superimposed panels, the outer side of each panel having a surface adapted for typing thereon, and the inner side of one of said panels having a coating of hectograph transfer material thereon with uncoated margins at the top and bottom, and a protective sheet positioned between said panels and of a size to cover the coated area, but leaving an uncovered area at the top margin, whereby said panels may be grasped near the fold at the top without smudging the surface which faces said top margin, and said protective sheet withdrawn by a downward'pull.

12. A copy sheet as in the preceding claim in which the uncovered area is defined by a notch in the top margin of said protective sheet.

EDWARD Z. LEWIS. i WILLIAM J. MENIIIAN. 

